earthquake experience essay

Earthquake Essay for Students and Children

500+ Words Essay on Earthquake

Simply speaking, Earthquake means the shaking of the Earth’s surface. It is a sudden trembling of the surface of the Earth. Earthquakes certainly are a terrible natural disaster. Furthermore, Earthquakes can cause huge damage to life and property. Some Earthquakes are weak in nature and probably go unnoticed. In contrast, some Earthquakes are major and violent. The major Earthquakes are almost always devastating in nature. Most noteworthy, the occurrence of an Earthquake is quite unpredictable. This is what makes them so dangerous.

Types of Earthquake

Tectonic Earthquake: The Earth’s crust comprises of the slab of rocks of uneven shapes. These slab of rocks are tectonic plates. Furthermore, there is energy stored here. This energy causes tectonic plates to push away from each other or towards each other. As time passes, the energy and movement build up pressure between two plates.

Therefore, this enormous pressure causes the fault line to form. Also, the center point of this disturbance is the focus of the Earthquake. Consequently, waves of energy travel from focus to the surface. This results in shaking of the surface.

Volcanic Earthquake: This Earthquake is related to volcanic activity. Above all, the magnitude of such Earthquakes is weak. These Earthquakes are of two types. The first type is Volcano-tectonic earthquake. Here tremors occur due to injection or withdrawal of Magma. In contrast, the second type is Long-period earthquake. Here Earthquake occurs due to the pressure changes among the Earth’s layers.

Collapse Earthquake: These Earthquakes occur in the caverns and mines. Furthermore, these Earthquakes are of weak magnitude. Undergrounds blasts are probably the cause of collapsing of mines. Above all, this collapsing of mines causes seismic waves. Consequently, these seismic waves cause an Earthquake.

Explosive Earthquake: These Earthquakes almost always occur due to the testing of nuclear weapons. When a nuclear weapon detonates, a big blast occurs. This results in the release of a huge amount of energy. This probably results in Earthquakes.

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Effects of Earthquakes

First of all, the shaking of the ground is the most notable effect of the Earthquake. Furthermore, ground rupture also occurs along with shaking. This results in severe damage to infrastructure facilities. The severity of the Earthquake depends upon the magnitude and distance from the epicenter. Also, the local geographical conditions play a role in determining the severity. Ground rupture refers to the visible breaking of the Earth’s surface.

Another significant effect of Earthquake is landslides. Landslides occur due to slope instability. This slope instability happens because of Earthquake.

Earthquakes can cause soil liquefaction. This happens when water-saturated granular material loses its strength. Therefore, it transforms from solid to a liquid. Consequently, rigid structures sink into the liquefied deposits.

Earthquakes can result in fires. This happens because Earthquake damages the electric power and gas lines. Above all, it becomes extremely difficult to stop a fire once it begins.

Earthquakes can also create the infamous Tsunamis. Tsunamis are long-wavelength sea waves. These sea waves are caused by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water. This is because of an Earthquake in the ocean. Above all, Tsunamis can travel at a speed of 600-800 kilometers per hour. These tsunamis can cause massive destruction when they hit the sea coast.

In conclusion, an Earthquake is a great and terrifying phenomenon of Earth. It shows the frailty of humans against nature. It is a tremendous occurrence that certainly shocks everyone. Above all, Earthquake lasts only for a few seconds but can cause unimaginable damage.

FAQs on Earthquake

Q1 Why does an explosive Earthquake occurs?

A1 An explosive Earthquake occurs due to the testing of nuclear weapons.

Q2 Why do landslides occur because of Earthquake?

A2 Landslides happen due to slope instability. Most noteworthy, this slope instability is caused by an Earthquake.

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Earthquake Essay

Essay on Earthquake - An earthquake is a natural disaster that occurs when two tectonic plates collide. The force of the collision creates seismic waves that travel through the earth's crust, causing the ground to shake and buildings to collapse. Here are some sample essays on earthquakes.

100 Words Essay on Earthquake

Earthquakes can happen anywhere in the world, and although their occurrence is not predictable, there are some things you can do to make yourself more prepared in case one does strike. This includes having an earthquake kit ready to go, knowing how to drop, cover and hold on, and staying informed about any potential risks in your area. Make sure you have an emergency kit stocked with food, water, and other supplies, and know what to do when an earthquake hits. If you're not sure what to do, it's best to stay away from windows and other objects that could fall on you, and head to a safe place.

200 Words Essay on Earthquake

500 words essay on earthquake.

Earthquakes are a natural disaster that come with a lot of dangers. The shaking and movement of the earth can cause buildings to fall down, trapping people inside. The shaking caused by such a sudden change is usually very minor, but large earthquakes sometimes cause very large shaking of the land. The shaking waves spread from the spot at which rock begins breaking for the first time; this spot is called the center, or hypocenter, of an earthquake.

If you're inside when an earthquake starts, drop to the ground and cover your head. The earthquake's magnitude is related to the amount of earthquake energy released in a seismic event.

Different Types of Earthquakes

There are three types of earthquakes:

Shallow | A shallow earthquake is when the earthquake's focus is close to the surface of the Earth. These earthquakes are usually less powerful than the other two types, but can still cause a lot of damage.

Intermediate | Intermediate earthquakes have a focus that's located between the surface and the Earth's mantle, and are usually more powerful than shallow earthquakes.

Deep | Deep earthquakes have a focus that's located in the mantle, which is the layer of the Earth below the crust. They're the most powerful type of earthquake, and can even cause damage on the surface.

An earthquake can cause damage to buildings and bridges; interrupt gas, electrical, and telephone services; and occasionally trigger landslides, avalanches, flash flooding, wildfires, and massive, destructive waves of water over oceans (tsunamis).

The Dangers Associated With Earthquakes

The shaking of the ground can cause objects to fall off shelves and injure people. If you're outside when an earthquake starts, move away from tall buildings, streetlights and power lines.

An earthquake can also cause a tsunami, or a large wave, to form and crash onto the shore. Tsunamis can be very dangerous and can reach heights of over 100 feet.

How to Prepare for an Earthquake

When an earthquake is imminent, your first step should be to find a safe spot. The most ideal spots are under sturdy furniture or inside door frames. It is best to stay away from windows and anything that can fall over.

Once you've found the safest place, it's time to prepare for the shaking. Grab some blankets, pillows and helmets if possible – all of which can provide extra cushioning against falling objects.

Additionally, you should always keep an eye out for debris that could cause injuries, such as broken glass and sharp objects.

Finally, stay calm until the shaking stops, and monitor local news reports for additional information on how best to handle the situation.

What to do During an Earthquake

The moment an earthquake hits, it is important to stay as calm and collected as possible. Safety is the first priority so you must stay away from windows and furniture that can fall on you, and protect your head with your arms if needed.

If an earthquake occurs while you are indoors, stay away from anything that could fall or break such as windows, mirrors, or furniture. Do not run outdoors as shaking can cause glass and other materials to fall from the building structure. Instead, seek shelter under sturdy tables or desks. If there is no furniture available, move to a corner of the room and crouch down protectively with your arms over your head and neck.

It's also important to take note of any gas lines that could be affected during an earthquake and shut them off if necessary in order to prevent fires from breaking out due to exposed pipes.

After the Earthquake: Recovery and Assistance

When the shaking stops, there will be a period of recovery.

Don't enter any building if it has visible damage due to the earthquake - it's better to be safe than sorry.

You should contact local aid organisations like the Red Cross for additional help with sheltering, water, food and other essentials.

Stay in touch with local officials about any services provided for those affected by the earthquake.

Make sure you also have a plan for what to do if you're stuck in an earthquake, and know how to get in touch with loved ones in case of an emergency.

By being prepared and knowing what to do, you can help ensure that you and your loved ones are safe in the event of an earthquake.

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My earthquake experience

This article was published more than 14 years ago. Some information may no longer be current.

I awaken to the bed swaying, gently at first, and because I'm half asleep and not from here, I think, "Cool, a tremor." I'm just that naive.

Sitting up, I switch on the bedside lamp. It's 3:34 a.m. The floor is shaking harder now, and I try to stand. A surge throws me backward.

Suddenly my 14th-floor Santiago hotel room comes alive, like an angry animal shaking a smaller one in its teeth. It lurches one way and then the other, and the air fills with the building's inhuman noises: rumbles and groans, the screeching of metal. Around me, pictures thud against walls; drawers open and bang shut; window curtains shriek on their rods.

Then the lights go out.

Panic squeezes the breath from me. The cacophony is more unholy in the dark. Trying to cross the rolling floor toward my suitcase at the foot of the bed, I curse myself for having slept naked. I am tossed against the corner of the desk and then to the ground. Lying on my back I yank on pants, then T-shirt and sandals, even as I think, "Just get out!" Something heavy crashes near my head.

I shouldn't even be here now. After three idyllic weeks as instructor at a writers' retreat outside Santiago, my flight home from Chile the previous evening, Feb. 26, had been cancelled because of engine trouble. I'd considered myself lucky to be put up at a luxury hotel.

As I pull myself to standing, sensations and images swarm my mind. I realize I'm whimpering. I don't consciously think that I won't see my husband and sons again. I just sense this, profoundly.

I careen my way to the bathroom and steady myself under the door frame. Isn't this what one is supposed to do? But the building is writhing and this doesn't feel safe.

Hauling open the door of my room, I expect to find people. The lights have burst on and it's blinding in the still-quaking hallway. Incredibly, there's no one about. My mind is screaming, but I don't even call for help.

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My room is at the end of the corridor. I brace my door open with one leg so it doesn't lock behind me, and push the stairwell door. Beyond it I see chunks of ceiling plaster pelting down, white dust clouding the air and coating the steps. Someone tell me what to do.

I go back into my room. Now the quake is subsiding. Furniture is askew, and the floor is littered with objects. Two large lamps have fallen, one just inches from where I pulled on my clothes. I realize nothing I'm doing makes sense, but grabbing my backpack containing passport and wallet, I run out again.

A middle-aged man is approaching, his face impassive. He says, "We should go down." I say, "Okay," and follow him to the stairs, but I lose sight of him. I take the landings too fast, feeling light-headed, sandals skidding on plaster.

On a lower floor I merge with a river of people in various stages of undress. We wend our way outside to the tennis courts, where a crowd of several hundred are gathering, comforting one another. Some are crying; all are dazed. A woman looks like she is about to faint and I steady her. Seeing frightened children in parents' arms, my selfish thought is thank God my kids aren't here.

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Soon hotel staff are setting up chairs and passing around bottled water. They offer us tablecloths to wrap around ourselves against the night chill, and slippers for those who are barefoot. They seem remarkably calm. They too must be afraid.

We drift about in tablecloths like ghosts in a school play. A kind man finds me a chair and we talk. My expression feels blank, but my heart is hammering. The staff order us to move away from the building - what do they know? - and 20 minutes after the big quake, we feel the first of many aftershocks. I have to remind myself to breathe.

I wander, and after a while there's a tap on my shoulder and I turn to feel arms wrapping around me. It's Mary, a warm Chilean-Canadian woman I'd met last night. She and her husband, who live in Toronto, would have been on my flight. She kisses my cheek and I kiss her back.

"Thank goodness," she says. "I told Victor, 'We have to find her. She's all alone.' " She rubs my arms.

"Are you okay?" I ask, and she nods. It's all I can do not to cry.

We all feel lucky to be alive, but our relief is tinged with survivor's guilt. Farther south, we soon learn, the 8.8-magnitude earthquake has left many dead and others homeless, and tsunamis may be on the way.

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In some hotel rooms ceilings collapsed; TVs and mirrors and glassware shattered; water pipes burst. But at least we have electricity, water, food. Outside the hotel, many do not. Some of us suffer cuts and bruises, but none are seriously injured. Still, dozens refuse to return to their rooms for the next few nights, turning the hotel grounds into a refugee camp. Why I return to mine, I'll never know.

For four anxious days we await news of when and how we'll be transported home. I e-mail my family and friends, and two writers I met at the retreat visit - but here, Mary and Victor, who stay by me, are my lifelines.

A minute and a half. That's how long the quake lasted, they say. But those who experienced it will never forget that eternity of adrenalin-charged panic. And that soul-deep, if fleeting, sense of finality.

Five sleepless nights later, a rescue flight carries us home.

Allyson Latta lives in Toronto.

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Essay on “I Experience an Earthquake” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

I Experience an Earthquake

Outline: Introduction – my strange experience – we rushed out – the havoc caused by the earthquake – man’s control over nature is incomplete.

Who can forget what happened in the small hours of the 30th September 1993? On the previous day I had gone to bed, expecting tomorrow to be like the so many tomorrows that had followed one another in weary succession. But the day, which dawned on 30th September 1993 proved to be different and brought to me a new and horrible experience. I was suddenly awakened at about 4 a.m. by a strange experience which I did not understand at first. I was aware that its main ingredients were a peculiar movement and a peculiar sound. I was rocked for a few seconds. as though I was in a cradle. I heard strange sounds in which I could identify the tinkling of pots, the rattling of windows, and certain muffled rumbling noise issuing from the earth. After a few moments I realized, to my horror, that it was the earthquake.

Others too in my house and locality must have realized it at the same time or a little earlier, as we all sprang up from our beds in a trice and rushed out of our houses, carrying sleeping babes and flabbergasted children. The tremor of the earth had ceased; yet we stood in the open for an hour, dreading another tremor. There was nip in the air that early morning, and the electric lights had gone off. People stood in darkness, talking about the earthquake and praying to God that it might not be repeated.

The tremors of the earth caused no damage in Mumbai. For several hours next morning we thought, with gratitude to Nature, that it had been, on the whole, harmless. But at about noon, news came that the earthquake had played havoc in Latur. All the houses in parts of Latur had been razed to the ground and hundreds of human lives lost.

The destruction wrought by the earthquake at Latur proved the helplessness of man in the face of an unexpected natural calamity. It shows how incomplete is man’s vaunted control over the forces of Nature. He has much to achieve yet in this respect. Is it not a pity that he is frittering away his resources and energies in petty animosities, squabbles and wars?

Difficult Words:Small hours -early hours. ingredients -elements. muffled -subdued, low. flabbergasted – bewildered, amazed. tremor – trembling. razed -destroyed, leveled to the ground. wrought – worked, caused. vaunted – boasted. frittering – wasting.

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Earthquake Essay

Download the Earthquake Essay Available on Vedantu’s Website.

Earthquakes are some of the most devastating natural disasters. Millions of dollars worth of property are damaged and a hundred die every time a big magnitude of eater quake strikes. It is in this regard that everyone must read and know about earthquakes and be prepared to mitigate the damage. Furthermore, the topic of earthquakes is quite often asked in exams. Preparing for this topic will enable them to have an edge and score more marks in the English paper.

To serve the above-mentioned purpose, Vedantu has come up with the Earthquake essay. This essay is prepared by the experts who know what exactly is required to know and weeding out points that are not important. The essay is very precise and would surely allow students to successfully claim marks in the essay question and even stay prepared when an earthquake actually strikes.

What is an Earthquake?

When the earth’s surface shakes, the phenomenon is referred to as an earthquake. Precisely, the sudden trembling of the earth’s surface is the cause of an earthquake. Earthquakes are regarded as one of the deadliest natural disasters. Huge damage and loss of property are caused by earthquakes. There are various types of earthquakes. Some of them are severe in nature. The most dangerous thing about an earthquake is that it is quite unpredictable. It can cause several damages without any previous indication. The intensity of an earthquake is measured by the Richter’s scale. Generally, earthquakes occur due to the movement of tectonic plates under the earth’s surface.

Types of Earthquake

There are four kinds of earthquakes namely

Tectonic Earthquake,

Volcanic Earthquake,

Collapse Earthquake and

Explosive Earthquake.

Tectonic Earthquake

It is caused due to the movement of the slab of rocks of uneven shapes that lie underneath the earth’s crust. Apart from that, energy is stored in the earth’s crust. Tectonic plates are pushed away from each other or towards each other due to the energy. A pressure is formed because of the energy and movement as time passes. A fault line is formed due to severe pressure. The center point of this dispersion is the epicenter of the earthquake. Subsequently, traveling of the waves of energy from focus to the surface causes the tremor.

Volcanic Earthquake

The earthquake caused by volcanic activity is called a volcanic earthquake. These kinds of earthquakes are of weaker magnitudes. Volcanic earthquakes are categorized into two types. In the first type, which is called volcano-tectonic, shaking happens due to input or withdrawal of Magma. In the second type, which is termed as Long-period earthquake, tremors occur due to changing of pressure among the earth’s layers.

Collapse Earthquake

Collapse Earthquake is the third type of earthquake that occurs in the caverns and mines. This is another example of a weak magnitude earthquake. Mines collapsed due to underground blasts. Consequently, seismic waves are formed due to this collapsing. Earthquakes occur because of these seismic waves.

Explosive Earthquake

The fourth type of earthquake is called an explosive earthquake. This is caused due to the testing of nuclear weapons.

Effects of Earthquake

The effects of earthquakes are very severe and deadly.

It can cause irreparable damage to property and loss of human lives. The lethality of an earthquake depends on its distance from the epicentre.

Damage to establishments is the direct impact of an earthquake. In the hilly areas, several landslides are caused due to earthquakes.

Another major impact of an earthquake is soil liquefaction. Losing the strength of water-saturated granular material is the cause behind this. The rigidity of soil is totally lost due to this.

Since the earthquake affects the electric power and gas lines, it can cause a fire to break out.

Deadly Tsunamis are caused due to earthquakes. Gigantic sea waves are caused by the sudden or abnormal movement of huge volumes of water. This is called an earthquake in the ocean. When tsunamis hit the sea coasts, they cause a massive loss of lives and properties.

Earthquake is termed as one of the most huge and lethal natural disasters in the world. It proves the fact that human beings are just nothing in front of nature. The sudden occurrence of earthquakes shocks everyone. Scientists are working rigorously to prevent the damage of earthquakes, but nothing fruitful has been achieved yet.

Examples of Devastating Earthquake

The city of Kobe in Japan witnessed a devastating earthquake on January 17, 1995, killing more than 6,000 and making more than 45,000 people homeless. The magnitude of the quake was 6.9 at the moment which caused damage of around 100 million dollars. The governor of Kobe spent years on reconstruction and made efforts to bring back fifty thousand people who had left home. Japan geologically is a highly active country. It lies upon four major tectonic plates namely, Eurasian, Philippine, Pacific, and North American which frequently meet and interact.

The second incident is in Nepal where an earthquake struck on April 25, 2015. About 9000 people were killed and almost 600,000 structures were destroyed. The magnitude of the quake was 7.9 and the repels were felt by neighbouring countries like Bangladesh, China and India. The disaster caused severe damage of millions of dollars. All the countries across the world including India garnered to help Nepal by sending monetary aid, medical supplies, transport helicopters and others.

FAQs on Earthquake Essay

1. How to download the Earthquake Essay?

The Earthquake essay is available on Vedantu's website in PDF format. The PDF could be downloaded on any device, be it android, apple or windows. One just has to log on to www.vedantu.com and download the document. The document is totally free of cost and a student does not need to pay any prior registration fee.

2. How to protect oneself during an earthquake?

Earthquakes could be very disastrous and can cause a lot of collateral damage. During an earthquake you can look for the corners to hide. Another safe place to hide is under the table or under the bed. If one is sitting in a multistory building, avoid taking a lift and only use the stairs. In this kind of situation, one should never panic and stay calm. Let the earthquake pass until then keep hiding in the safe spot. Once over, come out to evaluate the situation and take appropriate actions.

3. How to mitigate the effects of an earthquake?

Prevention is better than cure. It is always a better idea to take necessary actions before an earthquake has struck. In the first place, send a copy of all your documents to someone reliable. In case of an earthquake that destroys your important documents, there would always remain a facility to retrieve them. Research and know if your city is in a seismic zone. One should also take note of earthquakes during the construction of a house and lay emphasis on a seismic-proof house.

4. How can one teach people about the effects of an earthquake?

There are many ways one can raise awareness about the effects of earthquakes. There is Youtube and Instagram which could be used to disseminate all the knowledge about the earthquake and its impact on humans. You can also go to schools and colleges to conduct a seminar whereby the students could be told about the mitigation and steps to take when an earthquake strikes. However before that, one must thoroughly research the topic. For this, visit www.vedntu.com and download the earthquake essay for free.

5. Who has written the Earthquake essay?

The earthquake essay provided by Vedantu is prepared by expert teachers who invest a good amount of time and effort to come up with an essay that is highly useful for the students in their personal lives as well as for their academic performance. The students can use this essay to maximize their abilities to cope with the questions on earthquakes and the earthquake itself. The essay is totally reliable and one mustn’t doubt its credibility at all.

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Original research article, the effects of earthquake experience on intentions to respond to earthquake early warnings.

1 Joint Centre for Disaster Research, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
2 United States Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, United States
3 Faculty of Psychology, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe-shi, Japan
4 GNS Science, Lower Hutt, New Zealand
5 Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States

Warning systems are essential for providing people with information so they can take protective action in response to perils. Systems need to be human-centered, which requires an understanding of the context within which humans operate. Therefore, our research sought to understand the human context for Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) in Aotearoa New Zealand, a location where no comprehensive EEW system existed in 2019 when we did this study. We undertook a survey of people's previous experiences of earthquakes, their perceptions of the usefulness of a hypothetical EEW system, and their intended responses to a potential warning (for example, Drop, Cover, Hold (DCH), staying still, performing safety actions). Results showed little difference in perceived usefulness of an EEW system between those with and without earthquake experience, except for a weak relationship between perceived usefulness and if a respondent's family or friends had previously experienced injury, damage or loss from an earthquake. Previous earthquake experience was, however, associated with various intended responses to a warning. The more direct, or personally relevant a person's experiences were, the more likely they were to intend to take a useful action on receipt of an EEW. Again, the type of experience which showed the largest difference was having had a family member or friend experience injury, damage or loss. Experience of participation in training, exercises or drills did not seem to prompt the correct intended actions for earthquake warnings; however, given the hypothetical nature of the study, it is possible people did not associate their participation in drills, for example, with a potential action that could be taken on receipt of an EEW. Our analysis of regional differences highlighted that intentions to mentally prepare on receipt of a warning were significantly higher for Canterbury region participants, most likely related to strong shaking and subsequent impacts experienced during the 2010–11 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence. Our research reinforces that previous experience can influence earthquake-related perceptions and behaviors, but in different ways depending on the context. Public communication and interventions for EEW could take into consideration different levels and types of experiences of the audience for greater success in response.

Introduction

Warning systems represent a critical element of the communication landscape and are aimed at providing information so people can take protective responses to various perils. While many warning systems tend to focus on the technical capabilities of providing warning information, warning systems in fact comprise a number of elements, all of which are needed for effective responses to occur. Kelman and Glantz (2014) summarize these aspects as risk knowledge, monitoring and warning, dissemination and communication and response capability. Basher (2006) and Harrison et al. (2020) argue that given effective responses are a key outcome of a warning system, a people-centered approach should be taken to warnings. This is reflected in the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) 1 definition of an early warning system which states it is: “The set of capacities needed to generate and disseminate timely and meaningful warning information to enable individuals, communities and organizations threatened by a hazard to prepare and to act appropriately and in sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss” ( United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), 2009 , p. 12). Consequently, in developing an effective warning system it is important to understand the environmental, social and experiential context in which humans are located, to be able to identify how they might best receive, interpret, and respond to warnings, and then utilize that in warning system development ( McBride et al., 2022 ).

Warnings can be disseminated and received for a wide range of perils, including natural hazards such as severe weather, flooding, volcanoes, tsunami and landslides. With the progression of science and technology, earthquake early warnings (EEW) are now also delivered to citizens in a number of countries including Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, South Korea, the West Coast of the United States of America (USA), Sichuan China and Peru ( Allen and Melgar, 2019 ; Fallou et al., 2022 ; McBride et al., 2022 ), among others. An EEW comprises advanced notification of earthquake shaking, delivered by a device such as a mobile phone or stand-alone alerting device, or via channels such as the media. The ability to send such a notification is dependent upon detecting an earthquake that has already occurred (e.g., by detecting the earthquake with sensors at its source or via P-waves) and sending out a warning in advance of the arrival of shaking from S-waves ( Given et al., 2018 ).

Most warnings are usually only issued for locations anticipated to receive strong shaking, as this is where damage, injury, and potentially death may occur ( Allen et al., 2018 ; Allen and Melgar, 2019 ; Allen and Stogaitis, 2022 ). Notification may be received anywhere from a few seconds to minutes before shaking ensues; however, most warnings will be in the range of seconds to tens of seconds, rather than minutes ( Minson et al., 2018 ). In some instances, if a person is located very close to the epicenter of an earthquake, there may not be time for a warning and the notification might arrive after shaking has started. In addition, delays to delivery of alerts including technological latencies in alerting channels, like cell broadcast or similar systems, will further delay when an alert can be delivered ( Prasanna et al., 2022 ).

Upon receipt of a warning notification, citizens have the opportunity to take action to protect themselves from the incoming shaking. The actions that people might take vary from country to country. In the United States of America, for example, people are usually advised to protect themselves by performing Drop, Cover and Hold On (DCHO) when shaking occurs ( Jones and Benthien, 2011 ; McBride et al., 2022 ), with additional advice provided on other protective actions for specific circumstances such as when driving ( Washington State Emergency Management Division, 2017 ). Similar advice is promoted in places like Japan and Aotearoa New Zealand, where the message has been simplified to Drop, Cover, Hold (DCH) ( McBride et al., 2019 ; Vinnell et al., 2020 ). This advice is relevant because most buildings in such countries are expected to perform adequately in an earthquake. However, in other countries where construction is not as sound (e.g., Mexico) advice focusses on evacuating buildings on receipt of an EEW ( Santos-Reyes, 2020 ; McBride et al., 2022 ). Japan, which has had an official EEW system operating since 2007 ( Fujinawa and Noda, 2013 ), also provides advice on a variety of other safety actions to take on receipt of a warning (e.g., stopping elevators and getting off at the nearest floor; Japan Meteorological Agency, 2019 ).

Influences on People's Ability to Respond to EEWs

People's ability to respond to EEWs may be confounded by a range of factors. In the first instance, timing can be an issue. Where the time between a warning and the commencement of shaking is very short (i.e., a few seconds) citizens might only be able to stop and stay still or DCH ( Nakayachi et al., 2019 ; Becker et al., 2020a ). As warning timeframes increase, the opportunity for taking further safety actions or evacuating a building is possible. However, this opportunity also creates the added possibility of injuries if people are still moving as shaking commences ( Shoaf et al., 1998 ; Johnston et al., 2014 ; Horspool et al., 2020 ). Given EEW timeframes are often so short (e.g., see Becker et al., 2020b for Aotearoa New Zealand modeling), consideration about what actions to take needs to occur well in advance of an earthquake, and is best achieved through education programmes and practice of drills ( Vinnell et al., 2020 ). Arguably, EEW struggles to meet the definition from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) (2009 ), with “sufficient time to reduce the possibility of harm or loss” being at issue here, as EEW may not provide this given its technological and physical limitations. Even with faster alerting channels and improved technology, there may always be some physical limitations to the system, such as a late alert zone, where the earthquake's epicenter is too close to an area for it to be categorized and calculated by algorithms, let alone sent out via various alerting channels before shaking arrives ( Minson et al., 2019 ; McBride et al., 2020 ).

Second, citizens' desire and ability to act upon an EEW is influenced by a range of cognitive, social, and affective factors. Some of these aspects can directly influence people's responses to warnings, while others have a more indirect influence on the process. People's previous experiences of earthquakes are a part of this mix. Experience can be described in many different ways, an issue that has been highlighted and which makes it difficult to draw comparisons between studies ( Becker et al., 2017 ). For this paper, we use the terms direct, indirect, vicarious, and life experience as defined by Becker et al. (2017) . In terms of earthquakes, direct experience includes physically feeling strong shaking, or being impacted through injury or loss. Even direct earthquake experiences are highly variable, by frequency, intensity and context. Indirect experience includes being exposed indirectly to an event (e.g., having travel or employment disrupted) or observing a local event. Vicarious experience includes occasions where one might interact with friends and family with regard to a disaster, or observe a disaster in the media, rather than a disaster having a direct or indirect impact upon themselves. Vicarious experience can also extend to educational efforts including drills and exercises, which develop procedural knowledge as to what protective actions to take ( Johnson et al., 2014 ; McBride et al., 2019 ), or when people are exposed to disaster scenarios but do not live through those disasters directly. Life experience is a fourth type of relevant experience where people might refer back to other adverse events or situations in their lives (e.g., experiencing a health issue, a car or work accident, power outages, crime, war) in understanding how they might respond to an earthquake ( Norris, 1997 ; Paton et al., 2000 ; Becker et al., 2017 ).

The Influence of Previous Experience on Responses to Earthquake Threats

Previous research highlights the diverse ways in which experience can affect people's responses to earthquakes. Given the relatively recent emergence of technology that has made EEW more accessible for use, most research has been completed in an earthquake preparedness context, as opposed to a warnings context. Some researchers have found that earthquake experience can be a driver of preparedness activity (e.g., Kiecolt and Nigg, 1982 ; Lehman and Taylor, 1987 ; Mileti and Fitzpatrick, 1992 ; Mileti and Darlington, 1997 ; Lindell and Perry, 2000 ; Tanaka, 2005 ; Dunn et al., 2016 ; Becker et al., 2017 ; Vinnell et al., 2017 ; Doyle et al., 2018 ), while others have found the opposite (e.g., Mulilis et al., 1990 ; Farley, 1998 ; Lindell and Prater, 2002 ; Basolo et al., 2009 ; Bourque et al., 2012 ; Lindell, 2013 ; Shapira et al., 2018 ).

The nature of people's experience appears to be key to whether previous experience will enhance preparedness or not. Experiences such as being directly impacted by an earthquake (e.g., experiencing damage, loss or injury; Jackson, 1981 ; Turner et al., 1986 ; Blanchard-Boehm, 1998 ; Lindell and Prater, 2000 ; Nguyen et al., 2006 ); being indirectly impacted (e.g., evacuating following an earthquake, participating in rescues; Becker et al., 2017 ; Doyle et al., 2018 ), or being vicariously affected in a more personal way (e.g., experience of loss by a family member; Turner et al., 1986 ) have been identified as influential in motivating people to prepare for future earthquakes. However, as Lindell (2013) highlights, even these types of experiences have their own unique nuances which influence decisions about whether to prepare or not, and how to prepare.

Additionally, researchers have found various mediating factors that influence the experience-preparedness process. These include such aspects as risk perception ( Solberg et al., 2010 ; Bourque et al., 2012 ; Bourque, 2013 ; McClure et al., 2015 ; Dunn et al., 2016 ), biases stemming from certain perceptions such as optimism and normalization biases ( Weinstein, 1989a ; Mileti and O'Brien, 1992 ; Helweg-Larsen, 1999 ; Spittal et al., 2005 ; Shapira et al., 2018 ), levels of concern, fear or anxiety ( Dooley et al., 1992 ; Rüstemli and Karanci, 1999 ; Karanci and Aksit, 2000 ; Siegel et al., 2003 ; Heller et al., 2005 ; Dunn et al., 2016 ; Paton and Buergelt, 2019 ) and people's ability for personal control ( Rüstemli and Karanci, 1999 ). Research in Aotearoa New Zealand particularly has shown that potential barriers to preparation behavior such as cost or logistics are less influential than cognitive barriers ( McClure et al., 2015 ; Vinnell et al., 2021 ).

Many of the factors and biases outlined above are evolved protective mechanisms to help individuals cope in response to an overwhelming number of risks that we encounter in our daily lives. Such risks can range from the lower likelihood high impact events such as an earthquake through to higher likelihood less widely impacting events such as car accidents. Biases work to reduce feelings of fear about risks; for example, optimism biases involve an individual believing they are less likely to suffer negative consequences than other people like them ( Weinstein, 1989b ), despite this being probabilistically flawed. Normalization bias involves the individual believing that all future events (e.g., earthquakes) will be similar to all past events that they have experienced ( Mileti and O'Brien, 1992 ; Mileti and DeRouen Darlington, 1995 ; Johnston et al., 1999 ). Therefore, if a person feels a previous earthquake was not bad in terms of shaking or impacts, they might consider future earthquake risk to be low and optimistically not bother preparing, or not intend responding to an EEW. These psychological mechanisms are useful as they allow individuals to function in the face of a multitude of risks but pose a challenge which must be overcome when trying to motivate preparedness. Our understanding of how these factors operate is therefore important to unpacking how experience might influence preparedness, and potentially future responses to EEW.

Several theories have been developed to explain and predict people's behavior in hazard contexts, including in response to warnings, including the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM) ( Lindell and Perry, 2012 ); Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) ( Tanner et al., 1989 ), and Community Engagement Theory (CET) ( Paton, 2013 ). Theories from other areas of behavioral sciences have also been applied in the hazard context, including Emergent Norm Theory (ENT) ( Wood et al., 2017 ) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) ( Vinnell et al., 2021 ). These models propose a large number of factors which can influence both people's preparation behavior and response behavior, including environmental and social cues; information about the peril/warning itself; exposure to that information; perceptions about the threat, actions, and what others think; and factors related to the current situation. Such inputs will determine an eventual response such as undertaking protective action, conducting an information search, or an emotional response. Sometimes people will also reach a conclusion that they will do nothing.

While much research has focussed on warnings in the context of other perils (e.g., tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanoes), there has been very limited work on responses to earthquake early warning, likely due to the relatively recent nature of emerging technologies to support widespread warning responses across different countries. Studies that have been conducted have focussed on perceptions of EEW and either intended or actual responses to earthquake warnings. The following outlines these studies.

Prior Studies on EEW Perceptions, Experiences and Responses

First, it has been important to understand how useful people perceive EEWs to be. We know from the PADM model and from other studies, that perceptions about preparedness (in this case a warning system) and protective actions are influential in people's decision-making about whether to undertake actions or not ( Lindell and Perry, 2012 ; Johnston et al., 2013 ; Becker et al., 2015 ; Vinnell et al., 2017 ). If an EEW system is perceived as useful, and the warnings actionable, then citizens may be more likely to use it. Results from research on the perceptions of EEW usefulness have been mixed, however, depending on the context. For hypothetical EEW scenarios, citizens have expressed strong support for EEW utility ( Dunn et al., 2016 ; Becker et al., 2020a , b ). In real warning situations, some researchers have found that people do consider warnings useful, even when issues arise with warning systems, such as receiving false alerts or late alerts after shaking has occurred ( Nakayachi et al., 2019 ; Fallou et al., 2022 ). However, other research by Santos-Reyes (2020) has found that perceptions of warning systems' usefulness can fall following a devastating earthquake (i.e., a Magnitude 7.1 earthquake in Mexico on 10 Sept 2017 when warnings were not provided in enough time before shaking for people to act). Given the 2017 earthquake in Mexico caused damage, injury and deaths, it was perhaps the severe impacts from this experience that influenced people's subsequent perceptions about EEW's utility, and possibly also recalibrated people's understanding of its true effectiveness.

Second, research on citizens' actual and intended responses to alerts have also had mixed conclusions. Studies from Japan suggest citizens are more likely to mentally prepare and stop and stay still on receipt of a warning, rather than take a specific protective action ( Nakayachi et al., 2019 ). Reasons for the Japanese population not taking specific protective actions on receipt of an alert appear to relate to previous experience, where prior warnings have not resulted in strong shaking, leading to lower risk perception and optimism that strong shaking will not follow warnings in future. Data from a Peru survey highlight a similar lack of protective action, whereby participants reported that on receipt of an alert, they more often warned people nearby or waited for shaking to begin ( Fallou et al., 2022 ). These studies show that having previous experience of EEWs does not necessarily translate into people taking protective action for alerts, for various reasons. However, when surveying intended responses of citizens from other countries without operational EEW systems (e.g., United States of America prior to EEW roll-out on the West Coast, and Aotearoa New Zealand), people were more likely to intend to take protective actions such as DCH ( Dunn et al., 2016 ; Becker et al., 2020a ), in comparison with Japan and Peru. Whether these intentions are accurate or not is questionable ( Becker et al., 2020a ). As an example, Dunn et al. (2016) found in their survey that 53% suggested they would DCHO, while only 20% had actually done so for an earthquake. Only future research will help us understand whether intentions predict actions in an EEW context.

Additionally, from an experience perspective, Dunn et al. (2016) looked at citizens' prior experiences of earthquakes and perceptions of EEW in a “willingness to pay” for warnings context (i.e., willingness to pay for an earthquake early alert app.). In their survey, respondents with previous earthquake experience had a higher familiarity with the concept of EEW, and were slightly more likely to consider EEW effective, in that they believed they could better protect themselves from earthquake risks. However, respondents with experience of an actual earthquake also had less willingness to pay for an EEW app., possibly due to the fact that most of their previous experiences only related to moderate shaking levels which were of limited concern. People who had vicarious experience of watching the “San Andreas” movie expressed more willingness to pay. The Dunn et al. (2016) survey highlighted some of the influences of previous earthquake experience on EEW, namely people's perception that EEW could provide them with a better outcome (i.e., positive outcome expectancy), and that different types of experience can be influential on the process (i.e., in this case, direct vs. vicarious experience), but in different ways.

The influence of previous experience is difficult to understand in the context of earthquake preparedness, let alone in a warning context. Given limited behavioral research on EEW, the effects of experience on earthquake warning response behavior is untested. Therefore, we undertook research to attempt to advance our understanding on this topic. Particularly, we were interested in understanding whether previous earthquake experience might influence both people's perceptions of EEW and their responses upon receiving an alert.

To do this we undertook a survey in 2019 in Aotearoa New Zealand. Given Aotearoa New Zealand had no comprehensive EEW system in 2019 ( Prasanna et al., 2022 ), the survey focussed on a hypothetical EEW context. Within the survey, we asked a range of questions about preferred EEW system attributes and anticipated responses to EEW, of which the general findings are reported in Becker et al. (2020a) . We also asked about people's experiences of previous earthquakes from a direct, indirect and vicarious experience perspective. We were interested in finding out what effect such experiences had on perceived usefulness of EEW and intended responses to warnings. This paper discusses key findings from the survey in relation to earthquake experience and EEW.

Materials and Methods

Our survey contained 20 questions, most of which were quantitative single response, multiple response and Likert or Likert-type scale questions ( Joshi et al., 2015 ) (18 questions), with the others being qualitative free response questions (2 questions). The survey covered aspects of previous earthquake experience, anticipated responses to a hypothetical EEW scenario, perceived usefulness of EEWs, preferred attributes of an EEW system, earthquake preparedness [including participation in workplace or volunteer training, emergency management exercises in general, and targeted drills such as the ShakeOut earthquake drill ( Jones and Benthien, 2011 )] and demographics. Aside from the provision of the hypothetical scenario, no additional information was given about EEWs, and people's responses to the questions were unprompted. More information about the survey is available in Becker et al. (2020a) . Only the questions relevant to the analyses reported in this paper are presented here. Under Massey University human ethics procedures, the survey was deemed low risk, and received an Ethics Notification Number of 4000019302.

The survey was uploaded online into the SurveyMonkey software programme ( SurveyMonkey, 1999–2022 ) and was promoted to Aotearoa New Zealand citizens via a press release that resulted in press articles in the online newspaper “Stuff” and a radio interview with Newstalk ZB. Additionally the survey was promoted on social media though Facebook and Twitter via the following sources: GeoNet, QuakeCoRE, Resilience to Nature's Challenges National Science Challenge, East Coast Life at the Boundary, Alpine Fault 8, and the Joint Center for Disaster Research. We opened the survey for participation on 22 March 2019 and closed it on 30 April 2019. During this time period no significant earthquake events occurred. A total of 3,084 self-selected responses were received from citizens across Aotearoa New Zealand as per a convenience sample. Participants were of average age distribution (when compared to New Zealand census data ( StatsNZ, 2018 ; sample range 18–80+, 47% between 30 and 49 years old), but more likely than average to be female (65%) and consider themselves of New Zealand (40%)/New Zealand European (46%) ethnicity. Males (33%) and other ethnicities such as Māori (4%) were under-represented in the data. Nearly 60% of participants reported that they already knew what Earthquake Early Warning was, prior to undertaking the survey. Further details about the survey method are presented in Becker et al. (2020a) , along with frequency results and the Supplementary Data set for the full survey.

Previous Earthquake Experience

Participants were asked to indicate which, if any, previous experiences they had with earthquakes out of the following options:

1. I have personally felt an earthquake before.

2. I have felt strong shaking (i.e., MM6—where people and animals are alarmed, and many run outside. Walking steadily is difficult. Furniture and appliances may move on smooth surfaces, and objects fall from walls and shelves. Glassware and crockery break. Slight non-structural damage to buildings may occur).

3. I have experienced personal injury, damage or loss from an earthquake.

4. I have had family or friends injured, or experience damage or loss from an earthquake.

5. I have observed local earthquake damage or loss (e.g., in my neighborhood or city).

6. I have observed earthquake damage or loss via the media (e.g., television, internet).

Participants reported how likely they would be to take particular actions after receiving a warning for a hypothetical scenario. The scenario was developed to be as similar as possible to real alerts experienced in Japan following the Gunma and Chiba earthquakes in 2018 (see Nakayachi et al., 2019 ). The hypothetical scenario involved participants' receipt of a mobile phone alert at 8.30 pm on a Saturday evening which said, “Earthquake Early Warning. Strong shaking expected soon”. Participants indicated whether, on receipt of this alert, they would on a 5-point scale be “Extremely unlikely” to “Extremely likely” to:

1. Do nothing/undertake no actions.

2. Look for further earthquake information about the warning (e.g., check GeoNet, TV, radio or mobile phone or talk to other people).

3. Tell other people the earthquake is coming.

4. Stop, and stay still, awaiting the shaking on the spot.

5. Mentally prepare myself for the shaking.

6. Take specific behaviors to protect myself on the spot (e.g., Drop, Cover, Hold; hold on to something; protect head; take cover under the table etc.).

7. Move nearby to where I think it is safe.

8. Go outside.

9. Undertake safety actions (e.g., secure furniture, secure a potentially dangerous piece of equipment, turn something off (e.g., gas fire), open the door to secure the way out, put on clothes or shoes).

10. Help others, or act to protect others (e.g., children, other family, friends, workmates).

11. Slow down, pull over and stop car.

Perceptions of Usefulness

Participants responded to the question “How useful do you think an EEW would be for you?” with a 4-point scale from “Useless” to “Useful”.

Previous Earthquake-Related Behavior

Participants indicated which behaviors they had undertaken to prepare for an earthquake. Of interest in this paper were the following two behaviors:

1. I have participated in training or exercises, so I can better respond to emergencies.

2. I have practiced responding to an earthquake drill (e.g., Drop, Cover, Hold as part of ShakeOut or self-organized drills).

Research Questions

To understand how previous earthquake experience might influence responses to EEW we developed three primary research questions and undertook statistical tests on the specific questions from the survey described above. We describe each below.

Research Question 1: Do EEW Perceptions and Intentions Differ Between Those With and Without Prior Earthquake Experience?

RQ1a: We tested whether perceptions of the usefulness of EEW differed between those with and without prior earthquake experience using a series of six independent samples t -tests. In all tests the dependent variable was perceived usefulness of EEW. Participants were split into groups depending on whether they indicated they had or did not have a particular type of earthquake experience.

RQ1b: Similarly, we tested whether the actions participants intended to take differed between those with and without prior experience using independent samples t -tests. Mean intentions to undertake a particular action (dependent variable) were compared between those participants with and without each specific type of experience (grouping variable).

Research Question 2: Is Preparedness, Particularly Participation in Training, Exercises or Drills, Related to People's Intended Actions for an EEW?

RQ2a: We tested whether mean intentions to undertake each action in response to an EEW (dependent variable) differed between those who had participated in training or practiced emergency management exercises and those who had not (grouping variable) using a series of independent samples t -tests.

RQ2b: Similar to RQ2b, we tested whether mean intentions to undertake each action differed between those who had practiced earthquake drills and those who had not using a series of independent samples t -tests.

Research Question 3: Do Intentions to Undertake Particular Actions in Response to an EEW Differ Between Regions of Aotearoa New Zealand Which Have Experienced More Earthquakes?

For the purposes of locational analysis, we grouped responses from certain regional areas together into Auckland ( n = 223), Canterbury ( n = 729), Hawke's Bay/Gisborne (Tairāwhiti) combined ( n = 147); Wellington ( n = 799); and Otago/Southland combined ( n = 157). Location in this way acts as a proxy for earthquake experience, as only two regions had experienced strong shaking from earthquakes in the previous 10 years; notably, the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010–11 that affected wider Canterbury and the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake for which the Canterbury and Wellington regions experienced strong shaking ( Figure 1 ).

Figure 1 . Map of Aotearoa New Zealand showing regional areas as defined by Civil Defence Emergency Management boundaries ( National Emergency Management Agency, 2013 ), the locations of the Darfield and Christchurch earthquakes (from the 2010–11 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence) and the location of the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake ( GNS Science, 2016 ).

RQ3: Mean intention scores for each particular action were compared between the five locations using a series of one-way Analyses of Variance (ANOVAs).

Limitations

Some types of earthquake experience were quite widely reported; for example, 93% of participants had felt an earthquake before and 87% had observed earthquake damage or loss through the media. However, the large sample size of this study means that even in these instances there were at least 200 participants without this experience, making group comparisons relatively robust. A further limitation of this study is the use of hypothetical situations and the measurement of intentions rather than behavior. While intentions do not perfectly predict actual behavior, they are seen as one of the best factors to approximate behavior when behavior cannot be measured ( Armitage et al., 2013 ). Additionally people's ability to assess the usefulness of a system might vary in the context of having no system, vs. their experiences with an actual operating system. Given the unpredictability of earthquakes, and the fact that this research was part of a project to scope the viability and enthusiasm for an EEW system in Aotearoa New Zealand, assessing actual responses was not feasible. Finally, this study examined direct associations between specific types of earthquake experience and intentions to respond to an EEW rather than considering the interactive nature of disaster experience ( Becker et al., 2017 ).

RQ1a: Does Prior Experience of Earthquakes Influence Perceptions of Usefulness of EEW?

Those who have had family or friends injured, or experienced damage or loss from an earthquake, saw EEW as significantly more useful (Mean [ M ] = 1.25, Standard Deviation [ SD ] = 0.53) than those who have not ( M = 1.29, SD = 0.57), independent samples t- test result: t (2451.45) = 1.99, significance level p < 0.05, Cohen's effect size d = 0.08. This is a weak effect (indicated by the relatively small d value), and all other tests for difference in means in perceived usefulness between groups with different types of experience and those without were non-significant ( p- values from 0.36 to 0.92). Overall, these findings suggest that prior earthquake experience does not influence perceptions of the usefulness of EEW.

RQ1b: Does Prior Experience of Earthquakes Influence Intended Actions?

Those who have personally felt an earthquake before had marginally weaker intentions to do nothing ( M = 2.10, SD = 1.42) than those who had not felt an earthquake ( M = 2.30, SD = 1.53), t (206.34) = 1.72, p = 0.09, d = 0.24. Participants were also less likely to go outside if they had personally felt an earthquake before ( M = 2.67, SD = 1.36) than if they had not ( M = 2.30, SD = 1.34), t (2615) = 2.70, p < 0.01, d = 0.11. Finally, participants were less likely to slow down, pull over, and stop their car if they had felt an earthquake before ( M = 3.92, SD = 1.19) than if they had not ( M = 4.08, SD = 1.07), t (210.36) = 2.00, p < 0.05, d = 0.28. There was no significant difference in intentions for any other actions between those who had and those who had not personally felt an earthquake ( p- values from 0.14 to 0.96).

Those who had felt strong shaking were less likely to intend to look for further information and marginally less likely to slow down, pull over and stop their car than those who had not felt strong shaking ( Table 1 ). Further, those who had felt strong shaking were more likely to intend to stop, stay still and wait for shaking and to mentally prepare themselves than those who did not have prior experience of strong shaking. There were no other significant differences in intentions for the remaining actions ( p- values from 0.314 to 0.944).

Table 1 . Results of independent samples t -tests comparing mean intentions scores for a range of actions between those who have and have not felt strong shaking.

Similar to the previous findings, participants who had experienced personal injury, damage, or loss from an earthquake were more likely to intend to mentally prepare themselves for shaking ( M = 4.46, SD = 0.82) than those who had not ( M = 4.37, SD = 0.87), t (2, 687) = 2.64, p < 0.01, d = 0.10 and to slow down, pull over and stop their car ( M = 4.06, SD = 1.15) than those who had not ( M = 3.87, SD = 1.19), t (1560.69) = 3.77, p < 0.01, d = 0.19. Further, those who had personally experienced injury, loss, or damage had stronger intentions to help or act to protect others ( M = 4.47, SD = 0.86) than those who had not ( M = 4.39, SD = 0.86), t (2, 677) = 2.39, p < 0.05, d = 0.09.

Interestingly, having a family member or friend experience injury, damage, or loss in an earthquake seemed to have more of an effect on intentions to act when given a warning than personal experience. Those who have had a family member or friend suffer injury, damage, or loss were more likely to intend to tell other people, mentally prepare, move nearby to somewhere safe, undertake safety actions such as turning off gas, help or act to protect others, and to slow down and pull their car over if driving ( Table 2 ). Further, participants with this type of experience were less likely to intend to do nothing and marginally less likely to intend to go outside than those without this experience. However, there was no difference between the two groups on intentions to look for further information ( p = 0.862), to stop and wait for the shaking ( p = 0.126), or to take specific actions such as Drop, Cover, and Hold ( p = 0.502).

Table 2 . Results of independent samples t -tests comparing mean intentions scores for a range of actions between those who have and have not had family or friends injured, or experienced damage or loss from an earthquake.

Those participants who had observed local earthquake damage were less likely to intend to do nothing ( M = 2.05, SD = 1.42) than those who had not ( M = 2.24, SD = 1.43), t (1775.70) = 3.26, p < 0.01, d = 0.155, but were also less likely to look for further information ( M = 3.66, SD = 1.39; M = 3.81, SD = 1.30), t (1964.59) = 2.72, p < 0.01, d = 0.123, and were less likely to intend to go outside ( M = 2.63, SD = 1.36; M = 2.82, SD = 1.36), t (2, 615) = 3.35, p < 0.01, d = 0.131. Intentions to carry out the remaining actions did not significantly differ between those who had and those who had not observed local earthquake damage ( p- values from 0.113 to 0.775).

Those who had observed earthquake damage or loss via the media indicated that they were less likely to do nothing when given a warning than those without this experience; however, all significant differences between two groups showed lower intentions to act among those with experience than those without, including the actions of looking for more information, stopping and staying still, and going outside ( Table 3 ). All types of experience demonstrated significantly or marginally significantly lower intentions to go outside, suggesting that there might be a unique aspect to this behavior. However, it is surprising that despite a moderate effect in the direction of more action, the only significant differences suggested less action among those who had observed earthquake damage or loss via the media. All other tests were non-significant, with p- values ranging from 0.245 to 0.644.

Table 3 . Results of independent samples t -tests comparing mean intentions scores for a range of actions between those who have and have not observed earthquake damage or loss via the media.

RQ2a: Does Preparedness, Particularly Participation in Training or Exercises, Influence People's Intended Actions for an EEW?

Those who had participated in training or exercises to respond to emergencies reported weaker intentions to do nothing when given a warning ( M = 2.01, SD = 1.37) than those who had not participated in training or exercises ( M = 2.15, SD = 1.44), t (968.86) = 2.13, p < 0.05, d = 0.137. However, the only significant difference for any of the action items was lower intentions to go outside among those who had participated in training ( M = 2.48, SD = 1.34) than those who had not ( M = 2.76, SD = 1.37), t (2, 615) = 4.39, p < 0.01, d = 0.172. However, those with training reported marginally higher intentions to mentally prepare themselves for shaking ( M = 4.45, SD = 0.82) than those who had not ( M = 4.38, SD = 0.87), t (2, 687) = 1.71, p = 0.087, d = 0.066, and marginally higher intentions to help or act to protect others ( M = 4.47, SD = 0.82) than those who had not ( M = 4.40, SD = 0.87), t (2, 677) = 1.80, p = 0.072, d = 0.070. All other tests were non-significant, with p- values ranging from 0.353 to 0.773.

RQ2b: Does Preparedness, Particularly Participation in Drills, Influence People's Intended Actions for an EEW?

Those who have practiced responding to an earthquake drill reported significantly lower intentions to do nothing than those who have not had such practice ( Table 4 ). This finding suggests that those who have done drills are generally more likely to intend to take at least some action (as opposed to no action) than those who have not done a drill. The former group had significantly higher intentions to mentally prepare for shaking and to help or act to protect others, but lower intentions to look for further information, stop and stay still, go outside, and undertake safety actions. All other tests were non-significant, with p- values ranging from 0.114 to 0.870.

Table 4 . Results of independent samples t -tests comparing mean intentions scores for a range of actions between those who have and have not practiced responding to an earthquake drill.

RQ3: Does Location Influence Intended EEW Actions?

There was no significant difference between regions for telling other people ( p = 0.753), stopping, staying still, and awaiting the shaking ( p = 0.281), taking specific protective behaviors ( p = 0.585), or moving nearby to safety ( p = 0.522). The overall ANOVA was significant for doing nothing, F (4, 1, 953) – 2.41, p < 0.05, η 2 = 0.005, and for helping or acting to protect others, F (4, 2, 026) = 2.76, p < 0.05, η 2 = 0.005; however, none of the post-hoc comparisons approached significance. For all other comparisons, both the overall ANOVA and a number of post-hoc comparisons were significant; each of these actions is presented in turn below.

Looking for Further Information

Intentions to look for further information differed significantly between the geographic regions, F (4, 2, 003) = 5.46, p < 0.01, η 2 = 0.011. Intentions were significantly higher in Hawke's Bay/Gisborne ( M = 4.06, SD = 1.18) compared to Wellington ( M = 3.53, SD = 1.37, p < 0.01) and marginally higher compared to Canterbury ( M = 3.72, SD = 1.40, p = 0.064). Further, the difference between Wellington and Canterbury was marginal at p = 0.089.

Mentally Prepare for Shaking

Intentions to mentally prepare for shaking significantly differed between the geographic regions, F (4, 2, 035) = 3.32, p < 0.05, η 2 = 0.006. Intentions were significantly higher in Canterbury ( M = 4.47, SD = 0.82) than in Auckland ( M = 4.27, SD = 0.91, p < 0.05), and marginally higher than in Wellington ( M = 4.35, SD = 0.88, p = 0.071).

Intentions to go outside differed significantly between the geographic regions, F (4, 1985) = 14.27, p < 0.01, η 2 = 0.028, with Wellington ( M = 2.41, SD = 1.27) significantly lower than all other regions: Canterbury ( M = 2.80, SD = 1.40, p < 0.01), Auckland ( M = 2.83, SD = 1.42, p < 0.01), Hawke's Bay/Gisborne ( M = 3.00, SD = 1.38, p < 0.01), and Otago ( M = 3.03, SD = 1.34, p < 0.01).

Undertake Safety Actions

Intentions to undertake safety actions significantly differed between geographic regions, F (4, 2, 029) = 5.35, p < 0.01, η 2 = 0.010, with intentions in Wellington ( M = 3.55, SD = 1.29) significantly lower than in Hawke's Bay/Gisborne ( M = 3.97, SD = 1.08, p < 0.05), and marginally lower than in Auckland ( M = 3.80, SD = 1.17, p = 0.075).

Slow Down, Pull Over, and Stop Car

Intentions to slow down, pull over, and stop if driving significantly differed between geographic regions, F (4, 1, 965) = 5.65, p < 0.01, η 2 = 0.011, with intentions in Wellington ( M = 3.77, SD = 1.25) significantly lower than in Canterbury ( M = 4.05, SD = 1.14, p < 0.01) and marginally lower than in Otago ( M = 4.06, SD = 1.20, p = 0.069).

This survey explored the role of previous earthquake experience in people's perceptions of the usefulness of EEW and their intended actions in response to a warning.

Our survey found that those who have had family or friends injured, or experienced damage or loss from an earthquake, saw EEW as significantly more useful, however this was a weak relationship. This is perhaps similar to the finding by Dunn et al. (2016) , who found that those with earthquake experience were only slightly more likely to think EEW to be effective. However, our findings are in contrast with Santos-Reyes (2020) where perceptions of usefulness dropped after citizens received a warning too late to take effective action for a devastating earthquake, showing how experience of severe impacts can reduce perceptions of EEW usefulness. We suggest then that in absence of an operating warning system, earthquake experience perhaps does not meaningfully influence perceptions of the usefulness of EEW. Where there is a warning system, and earthquake experiences are benign, systems are generally perceived as useful, with perceptions of usefulness unaltered even when issues arise with the warning system ( Nakayachi et al., 2019 ; Fallou et al., 2022 ). However, when experiences of ineffective warnings result in damage, death and injury, this is understandably where perceived usefulness declines.

As highlighted in the introduction, perceptions of EEW usefulness are important to understand, as these perceptions will affect the decisions people make in response to warnings ( Lindell and Perry, 2012 ; Johnston et al., 2013 ; Becker et al., 2015 ; Vinnell et al., 2017 ). Research shows that experience influences these perceptions in different ways, but this is perhaps more evident in the context of an operating system, and is dependent on the nature of the experience (e.g., a benign vs. damaging earthquake). People's varying experiences of EEW will have implications for public education initiatives. For example, different approaches might need to be taken to enhance citizens' understanding of EEW usefulness by highlighting the benefits of taking protective actions for an EEW, tailored to what people have experienced in the past. For example, in the context of a previously damaging earthquake, this might include acknowledging previous system gaps and impacts, highlighting how a system may have been improved subsequently, and discussing the benefits of future warnings and protective actions.

Intended Responses

Despite our finding of a weak relationship between experience and perceived usefulness in a hypothetical context, we did find that previous earthquake experience influenced people's intended responses to a warning. As with much of the literature the more direct, or personally relevant, a person's experiences were of previous earthquakes, the more likely they were to intend to take useful action to a warning ( Kiecolt and Nigg, 1982 ; Lehman and Taylor, 1987 ; Mileti and Darlington, 1997 ; Becker et al., 2017 ; Doyle et al., 2018 ).

The most relevant experience appeared to be having a family member or friend experience injury, damage or loss. People with that type of experience were more likely to anticipate undertaking protective actions to protect themselves or others. The larger number of differences in intentions between those without and those with experience involving pain or loss of close others, compared to personally feeling shaking or observing loss via media, suggests that differences in affect associated with types of experiences might influence behavioral intentions. The finding that people were more likely to undertake a range of potentially beneficial responses to an EEW if they had a family member or friend who had been negatively impacted by an earthquake in the past is consistent with previous work in New Zealand showing that this type of experience also relates to uptake of structural strengthening ( Miranda et al., 2021 ). Public education initiatives could encourage people who have been harmed by earthquakes to share their experiences with their friends and family. Further, the sharing of personal experiences via education initiatives, linked with suggested responses to earthquake warnings, could be useful for prompting understanding and action for those without family members or friends that have had experience.

Individuals who had experienced strong shaking themselves were more likely to stop and stay still, and mentally prepare; and those who had suffered personal injury or damage were more likely to mentally prepare, pull over or help others. Those who had only observed local damage or loss, or those who had observed it via the media (particularly the latter) showed lower intentions to act on receipt of a warning.

We expected experience of participation in training, exercises or drills to prompt the correct intended actions for earthquake warnings (e.g., DCH, stop/stay still), but only found that those who participated in such activities were less likely to go outside, and had marginally higher intentions to mentally prepare and help or protect others. We know from previous research ( Vinnell et al., 2020 ) that participation in drills such as ShakeOut can enhance protective actions in a real earthquake, however, it is possible that people did not associate their participation in such drills with a potential action that could be taken on receipt of a warning as they might have not yet linked these two activities in their own minds. Drills could benefit from more explanation and inclusion of EEW in future, to explain what to do when you receive an alert vs. when you feel shaking; it is largely the same but with different alerting conditions. Educational initiatives could be more explicit to link DCH with EEW situations, in addition to DCH for actual shaking ( Sutton et al., 2020 ).

All types of experiences from direct and indirect through to vicarious experience, however, revealed that people were less likely to do nothing, highlighting the value of any kind of experience (whether direct or not) in helping people understand the importance of responding to earthquake warnings. It speaks to the question of how to enhance that experience in ways that are salient to people, so that they don't have to experience a devastating event before seeing the value of such actions.

Regional Differences

Analysis of regional differences highlighted the potential effects experience has on people's anticipated warning responses. In particular, intentions to mentally prepare on receipt of a warning were significantly higher for Canterbury region participants, most likely related to strong shaking experienced during the 2010–11 Canterbury Earthquake Sequence, which resulted in significant impacts on the region as well as loss of life ( Potter et al., 2015 ).

Wellington region respondents were also more likely to mentally prepare on receipt of an EEW (albeit slightly less than Cantabrians), which perhaps could be related to their experience of the 2016 Mw7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, as explored in Becker et al. (2020c) and Woods et al. (2017) , alongside the Mw6.2 Eketahuna earthquake ( Wein et al., 2016 ) and Cook Strait doublet sequence in 2013 ( Hudson-Doyle et al., 2018 ). Thus, those located in regions of Aotearoa New Zealand with the most distressing earthquake experiences valued the mental preparedness aspects of EEW greater than those in other regions who did not have that experience.

As explored by Kelman and Glantz (2014) , early warning systems require not just technology but also knowledge and capacities to respond to those warnings. This is particularly important for warnings with very short timeframes such as EEW where only seconds of warning may be given before shaking, challenging the limits of sufficient time available to reduce harm or loss. Consequently, it is important to understand the environmental, social and experiential context for earthquake warnings, to identify how people might interpret and respond to such warnings, in order to guide EEW system development, including the development of drills and potentially more explicit warning messaging. This research provides insight into particular aspects of this context, namely how people's previous experiences influence perceptions of EEW usefulness and intended responses. Our findings reinforce the important role that previous experience plays in earthquake-related perceptions and behaviors, as well as inconsistencies in this role at least partially resulting from the complexities in the different possible types of experience ( Bourque et al., 2012 ; Lindell, 2013 ; Becker et al., 2017 ; Doyle et al., 2018 ). Our findings suggest that, where possible, public communication and interventions could take into consideration different levels and types of experiences of the audience, for greater success. While this will work more effectively with smaller audiences, the regional differences found in this study suggest that some tailoring of public education around experiences at a regional level could further improve the effectiveness of interventions or education.

Further Research

Given the limited nature of EEW in Aotearoa New Zealand, this research by necessity presents participants with hypothetical situations. Work from other countries with functional systems can inform work in the specific Aotearoa New Zealand context to an extent, but when and where it is possible, further research can test how experience influences actual EEW response, in a planned and meaningful way. This survey can act as a baseline, as EEW evolves in Aotearoa New Zealand and the population receives warnings. Re-administering relevant parts of the survey would enable reporting and analysis of how people's knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, intentions and actions evolve over time with EEW system development. This could be supplemented by qualitative research to fully understand the nuances and influences of such factors as a system develops.

Future research could also include more studies on EEW performance, including testing of the proposed algorithms combined with testing of the proposed alerting channels, to determine how much time people in Aotearoa New Zealand may have to respond to an alert. Additionally, in New Zealand, emergency mobile alerts (which are more similar to EEWs than other warnings such as flood sirens) have been sent for hazards such as expected or potential tsunami impacts ( Vinnell et al., 2022 ). While the public tend to appreciate these warnings, there are misconceptions about how and when they are used (e.g., some people want an alert to tell them they are not at risk) which makes comparisons to EEW difficult. Future research could explore how people's experiences with other warning systems influence their expectations and engagement with EEW.

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article via references to other papers, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

Ethics Statement

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study on human participants in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements (see Massey University Low Risk Notification no: 4000019302). Written informed consent for participation was not required for this study in accordance with the national legislation and the institutional requirements.

Author Contributions

JB, SP, KN, and SM developed the survey. JB and SP undertook data collection. JB, LV, and KN analyzed the survey data. All authors contributed to writing the manuscript.

The authors would like to acknowledge the following Aotearoa New Zealand sources who provided funding for this project: Earthquake Commission (EQC) Biennial Research Funding Programme (EQC 18/750—Social and sector-based benefits of an Earthquake Early Warning System); QuakeCoRE a Tertiary Education Commission initiative (QuakeCoRE publication number 0703); and Kia manawaroa—Ngā Ākina o Te Ao Turoa (Resilience to Nature's Challenge—National Science Challenge).

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's Note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Acknowledgments

In addition to our funding sources, the authors would like to acknowledge the survey participants who filled in the Earthquake Early Warning survey. We thank our U.S. Geological Survey internal reviewer Grace Parker for her insights which greatly improved this article. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

1. ^ Previously known as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).

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Keywords: earthquakes, Earthquake Early Warning (EEW), experience, perceptions, protective action

Citation: Becker JS, Vinnell LJ, McBride SK, Nakayachi K, Doyle EEH, Potter SH and Bostrom A (2022) The Effects of Earthquake Experience on Intentions to Respond to Earthquake Early Warnings. Front. Commun. 7:857004. doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2022.857004

Received: 18 January 2022; Accepted: 10 June 2022; Published: 18 July 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Becker, Vinnell, McBride, Nakayachi, Doyle, Potter and Bostrom. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Julia S. Becker, j.becker@massey.ac.nz

Earthquakes and Their Devastating Consequences Essay

Nature and its actions are often unpredictable and frightening. Almost every day, TV channels and news websites report on natural disasters in different parts of the world. Many of these events are caused by global warming and other climatic and environmental changes resulting from human activities. Although many natural disasters are natural and predictable, they cannot be managed or their consequences predetermined. One of these incidents is earthquakes, which occur everywhere with less or more force and threaten the lives and health of people.

An earthquake is one of the most ancient and frequent catastrophic events. Despite this, people have yet to determine where, when, and what strength the next earthquake will occur. It occurs when a sudden release of energy accumulates for a long time due to the movement of tectonic plates (Bolt). Imagine going to a coffee shop to have some caffeine boost, as you do every morning. You have already gotten used to the fact that many people are there at this time and have learned to maneuver, avoiding collisions. However, you were late this morning and could not join this usual flow of people. As a result, you run into another customer, and the coffee stain is spilling over your shirt and coffee shop floor. People are trying to get away from the ‘epicenter’ of events, and cafe workers are trying to eliminate the results of the morning ‘catastrophe’ as quickly as possible. Earthquakes occur on a much larger scale, and instead of a coffee stain, a disruption is formed in the earth’s surface, spreading for tens of miles.

The break in the ground surface is the most common cause of horrific consequences, and people often cannot get out of the epicenter of the incident. Seismologists study and predict possible earthquakes, but it is impossible to predict any natural phenomenon in detail. Tracking seismic waves and their properties, especially in areas with a greater likelihood of an earthquake, certainly helps to warn the population and take preventive measures (Bolt). Every year, hundreds of thousands of earthquakes occur worldwide, most of which are minor and not felt by people. However, about 50,000 earthquakes can be detected without the aid of special instruments, and more than 100 of them are strong enough to cause significant harm to people (Bolt para. 2). Moreover, today, earthquakes occur even in those regions that are less prone to them, and the recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria confirm this.

The circumstances and the number of victims of this incident are simply shocking. Moreover, neither the people nor the authorities of Turkey and Syria were prepared for such a catastrophe, which led to even more victims and deaths. Imagine another situation, in the evening, you go to bed, preparing for a hard work week because tomorrow is Monday. Suddenly, in the middle of the night, it seems that the house is starting to stagger, and after a few minutes, you find yourself under the rubble of concrete slabs. The worst thing is that this is not a nightmare from which you can wake up but a new reality. That is exactly what happened on the night of February 6 in Turkey.

I was lucky, and I never found myself in the epicenter of an earthquake, and more precisely, I did not find myself in such a strong earthquake that I could feel. However, the news and photos from the scene in Turkey startled me. According to official information from the authorities, “approximately 7,000 buildings in the area have been damaged or destroyed” (Pamuk para. 24). This is approximately 25,000 victims who unknowingly slept in their beds. Moreover, this event was not limited to one region but moved about 60 miles and struck Turkey with another 7.5-magnitude earthquake (Pamuk para. 28). If at night the whole scale of the catastrophe was still not so visible, then in daylight, these events caused shock and chaos.

Any emergency is certainly accompanied by chaos, and this case is no exception. People who managed to escape the earthquake’s epicenter in time “wandered the streets in search of help or food” (Pamuk para. 28). Others looked for their relatives and friends who could remain under the rubble. The consequences of earthquakes are always unpredictable but are always accompanied by destruction and casualties among people. In addition, this natural event destroys infrastructure and communications, leaving the region isolated indefinitely. In southeastern Turkey, the earthquake destroyed water and heating systems, as well as serious problems with mobile communications (Pamuk). The inability to contact their relatives and friends who lived in the destroyed houses leads to even more panic and chaos.

Moreover, some consequences of earthquakes are not so obvious. For example, one of the most common consequences of earthquakes is tsunamis (Bolt para. 23). The wave covering the coastal regions is formed due to underwater earthquakes, which humans may not feel. The most devastating was the tsunami of December 26, 2004, in Indonesia, caused by the movement of tectonic plates on the ocean floor (Bolt para. 24). As a result, the infrastructure of cities was destroyed, but the most terrible consequence was the number of victims among people.

If people in Turkey had known about the impending earthquake, they would probably have gone to safer regions of the country, or at least would have left the city and would not have ended up under the concrete rubble of houses. If citizens and tourists in Indonesia had been warned of the magnitude of the coming tsunami, they might have moved away from the coast. It wouldn’t help protect the infrastructure or keep their homes intact, but it could save thousands of lives.

However, the world around us is unpredictable and impossible to control. Yet this does not mean we cannot reduce the negative effects of natural events. Firstly, when building houses, their location is taken into account. That applies not only to proximity to the city center or the presence of developed infrastructure but also to the seismic safety of the location (Bolt). Secondly, people should know the basic algorithms of behavior during natural events. Moreover, as Turkey’s practice shows, this is necessary not only in regions where earthquakes occur frequently but in all countries. Researchers, of course, are doing a lot to reduce the scale of catastrophes from natural events, but any precautions will be reasonable.

In conclusion, the world is amazing and interesting, but also dangerous and uncontrollable. Storms, floods, earthquakes, and other natural events occur daily and have devastating consequences. The damage they bring to people is impossible to predict, but their negative consequences can be reduced. Basic knowledge and precautions can help save thousands of lives. Even if nature cannot be controlled, it can and should be studied to improve our security.

Works Cited

Bolt, Bruce A. “ Earthquake .” Britannica, Web.

Pamuk, Orhan. “A Girl Trapped Under Fallen Concrete. A Man Unsure of What to Do.” The New York Times, Web.

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Natural Hazard: Tsunami Caused by Earthquakes
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Natural Disasters: Tsunami, Hurricanes and Earthquake
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The Natural Disaster: Earthquake

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Essay on Earthquake. My Unpleasant Experience

BEEP. My alarm goes off around 6:45, and I am filled with irritating thought of getting out of bed. I fluttered my eyes open and then turned on the light beside me, piercing my vision. I rose up, stretching into life. My mind was scrambled from a rough night of sleep, but I figured I should begin to start my morning routine regardless.

I shuffled to brush my teeth, and change my clothes to something more appropriate than my pajamas. As I slowly walk down my stairs, I check my phone. Alerts of many natural disasters flood my inbox. Hurricanes, Tsunamis, and earthquakes are now common around the world. After scrolling through the rest of the calamities, I grab my favorite cereal and proceed to my day. But as I slowly lift my spoon, and groggily eat, a flash of regret fills my mind. I couldn’t believe it. I had forgotten to finish my biology homework.

I sprint upstairs, busting open my backpack, and ransacking through my binders filled with paper. One after another, I find a particular paper in mind. I settle down, finding a pencil, and resting into my desk chair. I find my mind rushing to fill in the boxes, but struggle because my phone becomes hyper with notifications. DING. I flip down my phone as an instant reaction. DING. I turn my head, staring at my phone, but go back to my homework as I am running out of time before I need to get on the bus. DING. Another notification hits. My frustration gets to me, and I turn off my ringer. I turn my focus back onto my homework. But my paranoia gets to me. I flip over my phone, and alerts and notifications overcome my phone screen. It takes me a little while to pinpoint what was happening. But, throughout all these endless notifications, I see a text from my closest friend, Lindsey. I click on the text, opening my phone with ease. I look at the text message and stare in a moment in shock. Lindsey had warned me. An earthquake was coming.

I text her back, “What do you mean-BAM. A jolt of force knocked me to the ground. Instantly, violent shaking flips me around. BOOM. A whirl of vision confuses me, and I begin to try to stand up. I manage to stretch my knees back into position, only by leaning up into the wall. I had no idea what to do. I remember through the vicious rocking all of the natural disasters I saw this morning. What is going to happen to me? What should I do? I start to panic even more than previously. Making a quick decision, I duck my head under my body, panting. All I could hear was vigorous and ruthless slamming. BANG.

My shelves fall, and a plethora of books fall into the endless mess of debris. My desk creaking and rocking back and forth has started to fall into pieces. With nothing to protect myself, I cower back into my protective position. My school teachers had always told me to cover my head, but I wonder if that is even going to help in the slightest. The shaking continues to threaten me. Rocking to and fro, I hear nothing but the chattering of furniture moving about, and I see blankets and pillows falling into unorganized fashion. Books from my shelves fall and I can hear the ripping and damaging of pages. Clothes falling off the hangers clang down on the floor. It feels as if it has been an eternity. By now, I've lost all sense of time. But scrapping knowledge from my brain, I know the largest earthquakes have lasted way over 5 minutes. How bad is this? Blurs of thrashing cross my eyes, and suddenly, it all comes to a halt.

Everything feels still, yet so uneasy. The eerie air of the debris-filled room surrounds me, and I begin to process the damage. Everything was sparsely laid across my room. As I feel an urgent call from the other room, I slowly begin to shuffle, stepping over the rubbish. I push open my door, which has miraculously survived the earthquake.

“Josh! Are you okay?” I hear from the left of me.

I know it must be my mom, Jennifer. My mind scrabbles, and I rush into her room.

“Yes! Where are you? Are you safe?” I shout.

“I’m right over here!”

I see my mom rise from under her desk. I ran straight towards her. I wrap her into my arms. With a sigh of relief, I know we are one of the luckiest. I let go of her and scan the rest of the house. A mess of furniture piles around our once neat home. Our glass shelves, once holding our prized pictures and items, now are laid across the floor, completely shattered. A sudden jolt of realization hits me.

“We need to find emergency supplies,” I tell my mom.

I rush down the stairs, careful not to trip on the rubble and broken furniture. I slowly open the door into the garage. Creeping through the boxes flown across the room, I find the bags and gallons of water. I grab the essentials, using all of my strength, and bring them into the house. What do we do now? I realize that we are going to need to secure our safety, as most power lines and electricity are out. My mother came down the stairs.

“Luckily, we are far enough from the coast that the tsunami will not hit us. But, we need to make sure that we aren’t in any more danger.” She says.

I calm down and peek out the window. Our next-door neighbors didn't get the best of it. Their home is completely wrecked. I hope nobody got hurt. We open the supplies, and I am filled with the most reassurance I could gather at the moment. With everything possible to aid us in these emergency bags, we are safe. I settled down. Then, out of the blue, I hear a car coming down the street. I look outside, and I see the large yellow bus. I ran straight onto it. I mean, I don’t want to put that biology homework to waste, right?

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Essay on earthquake: top 10 essays on earthquake.

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Here is a compilation of essays on ‘Earthquake’ for class 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Earthquake’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Earthquake

Essay Contents:

Essay on the Effects of Earthquake

Essay # 2. Causes of Earthquake:

There are many causes for earthquakes. Among them tectonic movement of the earth, volcanic eruption, icefall and landslide are the main ones.

Tectonic Movement :

The material of the interior of the earth gradually contract due to loss of heat by radiation. As a result of this, some tectonic forces (tensional and compressional forces) are produced which shake the surface. These forces are mainly responsible for the formation of Fold Mountains and rift valleys. That is why, the earthquakes occur more frequently in the regions of Fold Mountain.

Volcanic Eruption :

During volcanic eruptions lava, ashes and steams come out with an enormous force. These cause earthquakes on the surrounding areas of the volcano.

Sometimes large blocks of ice fall into the valleys from a snow capped mountain. Such a fall may cause a minor earthquake.

Landslide :

In mining area sometimes a large portion of land falls into the vacant space below and causes earthquake of minor nature.

The other causes of earthquakes may be due to the various reasons depending upon their intensity.

The following are the major causes:

i. Superficial movements.

ii. Volcanic eruption.

iii. Faulting and folding.

iv. Earthquakes due to other causes.

Earthquakes due to superficial movements:

The feeble earthquakes are caused due to the superficial movements such as dynamic agencies operating upon the earth’s surface.

(i) The dashing of waves cause vibration along seashore.

(ii) Water descending along high waterfalls.

(iii) The snow falling (avalanche) down from high altitude causes ground vibration.

(iv) The movement of locomotive and working of heavy machinery produces feeble vibration, along the railway tracks and in industrial areas.

Earthquakes caused due to volcanic eruption:

Some of the volcanoes may also produce earthquakes such earthquakes are generally feeble or severe.

Earthquakes caused due to folding and faulting:

The earthquakes caused due to folding/faulting are more disastrous. They are known as tectonic earthquakes and directly or indirectly change the very structural features of the earth’s crust.

Earthquakes caused due to other causes:

Atomic minerals disintegrate emanating α (alpha), β (beta), ϒ (gamma) rays due to radioactivity or due to bombarding. This produces enormous amount of heat and energy within the crust of the earth, which may also initiate very severe earthquakes.

Atomic tests:

Atomic tests conducted in earth’s crust or oceans, which have become a common thing now-a-days, release enormous energy on account of sudden explosion, which follows initiation of earthquakes.

Rocks burst and blasting in the deep under mines generally initiates earthquake tremors.

Essay # 4. Prediction of Earthquakes :

The precise prediction about earthquake calamity is elusive though it is not impossible, since for human grey matter sky is the limit. Recently, the frequency of earthquake calamities in the region has attracted the attention of the scientists all over the world.

It has been observed that earthquake may occur and reoccur at the same places and new places but they do not have any regular scale or frequency. The scientists know that elastic strain is piling up along SAF (San Andreas Fault) since 1906, but they are unable to forecast the exact day, time and place.

In about half of the cases, just before the rocks reach the rupture point to announce the event, small foreshocks announce hours, days or even months before the climax shock, that stress has become critical. The long series of post event tremors indicate adjustments.

Sometimes, the break may be as large as the major shock. Unusual animal behaviour, fluctuations of ground water level in wells and springs and variation in the discharge of springs are the phenomena closely related to the development of fractures.

In China, about 90 per cent of the country is lying on the young and restless crust. Chinese have successfully employed most of the precursors in predicting major disasters and have specially mastered the art of closely monitoring and analysing normal behaviour of animals to forecast earthquakes.

The Haicheng earthquake of February 1975, of 7.3 magnitude, destroyed 90 per cent of the structures, but without loss of life due to timely evacuation of the population of nearly a million. There is evidence that full moon and associated high tides, excessive precipitation and sharp biometric gradient changes, and particularly another quake elsewhere act as ‘trigger’ for earthquake.

Essay # 5. Facts about Earthquakes :

I. Earthquakes do not kill people, structurally unsound buildings can do.

II. There is no foolproof mechanism or technology in the world to predict quakes.

III. Himalayas could be ‘overdue’ for a great earthquake, though no one knows when and where these will occur.

IV. Active thrust faults exist all across foothills of northern India, the north-east and into northern Pakistan.

V. The subcontinent is sitting on the highly seismic Indian plate, with some major fault lines. In fact, there is no safe zone in India.

VI. Of late, the Indian plate boundary has become very active. It is on gradual move, pushing against the Eurasian plate by 4-5cm every year.

VII. All the plates of India should have a disaster management authority to deal with any eventuality.

VIII. Building of laws formulated after 2001 Bhuj earthquake to ensure the construction of quake-proof houses have not been implemented by any state government.

IX. India is among the few countries with no regulatory mechanism to control building activities.

X. Tremors of the Muzzafarbad quake were felt as far as west Bengal.

XI. Disasters have left the 800 years old Qutub Minar with slight tilt, but it has survived several quakes in its life time.

Essay # 6. Classification of Earthquakes :

The earthquakes are classified on number of bases. Of these the depth of FOCUS, the cause, the intensity and magnitude of earthquakes are very important.

1. Classification based on depth of Focus:

Accordingly the earthquakes are termed as:

i. Shallow:

When the focus lies within 60 km.

ii. Intermediate:

When its focus lies within 60 to 300 km from the surface.

iii. Deep seated:

When the focus lies beyond the 300 km depth.

2. Classification based on origin:

The earthquakes are broadly classified into Tectonic and Non- Tectonic types. The tectonic earthquakes are directly related to the movements of crystal block along faults. They are generally very severe and area affected is often very great.

The non-tectonic type includes earthquakes due to number of causes such as:

i. Volcanic eruptions.

ii. Collapse of underground caverns.

iii. Superficial movement like landslides, etc.

3. A third way to classify the earthquakes is on the basis of their intensity, which is defined by the effects or degree of damage that an earthquake produces on the structure and features of the earth.

A numbers of scales of intensity have been suggested.

Some of them are:

i. Rossifeerets scale, and

ii. Mercale scale.

Richter’s scale:

This scale of intensity is adopted internationally. Charles F. Richter, an American Seismologist, devised the earthquake intensity scale. This is based in the total amount of energy released during an earthquake. The energy is called ‘magnitude’. The magnitude is calculated mathematically using the amount and duration of ground vibration/tremors as recorded by seismograph.

Essay # 7. Record of Earthquakes :

Seismograph:

The instrument used for recording the vibrations of the earth crust is known as ‘seismograph’.

The vibrations are recorded on a strip of paper or photograph film and the diagram is produced as shown:

Most seismographs contain a heavy weight suspended from a support, which is attached to bedrock. When waves from a distant earthquake reach the instrument the inertia of the weight keeps it stationary while the earth and support vibrate.

The movement of the earth in relation to the stationary weight is recorded on a rotating drum. Some seismographs detect horizontal motion while others detect vertical motion. The traces of the earthquake waves are usually recorded on a moving photographic paper as a series of zigzag lines.

With the help of seismograph the distance between the recording station and the epicentre is located or determined.

Essay # 8. Seismic Waves Produced during Earthquake :

At the time of earthquake three types of waves are produced from the focus Seismic waves are of three types—P waves, S waves and L waves.

Surface waves or L waves are responsible for causing earthquakes while the importance P and S waves are in study of earth’s interior. P and S waves travel through the interior of the earth and are reflected and refracted as they enter core and mantle layers.

P waves or Primary waves:

These are compressional waves, which cause the material of rock to vibrate in longitudinal direction. The primary waves travel faster, therefore, they reach the seismic station first.

They pass through solid as well as liquid media. The velocity of P waves from 5.5 to 13 km per second. These waves are also called as Push waves and are similar to Sound waves.

S waves or Secondary waves:

These are shear waves, which are transverse in nature, whose velocity is less than P waves. (The velocity of these waves varies from 3 to 7 km per second). The S waves travel through solids only and do not pass through liquid media.

L waves or Surface waves:

When primary and secondary waves reach the earth’s surface they are converted into longitudinal wave. L waves travel along the surface and cause earthquakes. They are traverse in nature and their velocity is much less than P and S waves (velocity varies from 4 km to 4.3 km per second.

Essay # 9. Earthquakes Resisting Structures :

To build earthquake-resisting structure it is very essential to determine the probable intensity and magnitude in the concerned area. The history and record of previous earthquake and the knowledge of geology of the area are helpful in this connection.

i. Perfectly designed steel framed or reinforced ferro concrete structure possesses high degree of resistance from damage.

ii. It is recommended that in soft grounds where soil-bearing capacity is very poor, a concrete raft- foundation should be adopted for structures.

iii. The height of large building should not exceed 100 ft. The heavy loads near the top, like heavy stone work in coping and water tanks should be avoided.

iv. Bridges with screw pile foundation stand better to the shocks, than that of bridges with brick arches, and girder supported on stone work piers.

v. In house construction light roof (Low density concrete) and polymer construction material are recommended.

vi. Walls constructed in cement with wet bricks work bonded are essential.

vii. Careful planning can ensure that the streets are wide in relation to the height of buildings. Many of the deaths caused during earthquakes are due to the collapse of tall buildings into narrow streets.

viii. Reinforced concrete houses are relatively stable. Doors and windows are provided in alternate positions.

ix. The most secure house is one that will move as a unit.

x. The light weight material such as wood, hard board and light weight fire proof polymer products are employed in the construction of residential building particularly in strong seismic zones as found in Japan.

xi. The main aim of the engineer is to design and construct buildings, bridges and dams in seismic zones considering seismic co-efficient of the locality in such a way that they can minimise loss of life during an earthquake.

Essay # 10. Effects of Earthquake :

1. In cities seismic waves disrupt underground service such as water, gas pipelines, bursts causing fire.

2. Roads are fissured, railway lines are twisted, dams and bridges are destroyed, electrical transmission is snapped causing short circuit of electricity and out-break of fire hazards.

3. Buildings are damaged and people get frightened resulting in loss of life and property.

4. Permanent tilting of landmass may occur in certain areas, landslides may occur in hill regions.

5. Rivers change their courses; fissures are opened up in the ground, which may cause springs.

6. Earthquakes occurring below the ocean floor may cause heavy damage to coastal areas.

Various changes take place on the surface of the earth as a result of earthquake. Some areas may subside or rise-up due to earthquakes. The earthquakes may also bring about a change in surface drainage by causing landslides and damming of rivers. This leads to flood or formation of lakes in the upper reaches of the rivers.

Sometimes large areas may be raised up above sea level so that they become plains. Sometimes again, a large plain may sink and become part of a sea. Sedimentary rock layers may be folded by the pressure exerted by the earthquakes. Devastating sea waves are also caused by the earth tremors.

They often cause great loss to the coastal areas. Although earthquakes are generally disastrous, they sometimes do constructional work also. They can create lakes, plains and islands.

The earthquakes of Bihar (1903 and 1934), of Baluchistan (1935), of Tokyo (1923), of Assam (1897 and 1950) and recent earthquakes of Chile, Mexico, Yugoslavia and Iran caused great loss to human lives and property, and brought about many changes to the earth’s surface.

The recent earthquakes of Armenia (1988), Turkey (1999), India (2001), Pakistan-India (2005) and of Iran (1989, 2006) are also worth mentioning. Recently, the earthquake of March 11, 2011 of Japan has completely destroyed the city of FUKUSHIMA and also 4 nuclear reactors.

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Essay on Earthquakes: Top 5 Essays on Earthquakes | Geography
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Earthquakes , Essay , Geography , Natural Disasters , Surface Vibration

Privacy Overview

Short Story

My Earthquake Experience

Katie Turner, Grade 6

I am currently in a country town called Satin which is in Western White, Wisteria. This is located in the Southern East part of Australia. Right now I am hiding in my attic trying to protect myself while a catastrophic earthquake is pulling down trees, power lines are falling, things are falling off all the shelves in my house and it is really dangerous. The windows are shattering and houses are collapsing as I crouch down in my favourite box. The worst thing is that the power’s out and all I have is my little book light which could run out of battery any minute. I feel very annoyed, scared and worried because I don’t know where the rest of my family is. All I hear are noises that sound like something cracking, I hear loud banging, things falling down and lots of people shouting and screaming. I am hoping that my family isn’t seriously injured or dead. I feel like I’m in a tsunami. I am not really sure if I’ll survive this earthquake or not because it is very hard to tell. I probably will because my house is one of the very few that hasn’t collapsed yet which might be because it is pretty stable even though it’s shaking pretty dangerously. But then again I might not survive because the trees that surround us are swaying pretty dangerously too and could fall down any minute now. Half an hour later After the earth quake I went downstairs and saw things scattered everywhere and thankfully found the rest of my family in the basement. I gave them lots of hugs and kisses. I also told them how worried I was and they said they were worried too. We went outside and saw trees, power lines and rubbish everywhere. The only thing that I was happy about was that my family were alive and well. We stood outside our front door with our arms around each other looking at everyone else searching in the debris. The next day when we were watching the news they said that the earthquake was measured as an eight on the Richter Scale and a ten on the Modified Mercalli Scale. By Katie Turner

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Essay on Earthquake Preparedness

Students are often asked to write an essay on Earthquake Preparedness in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Earthquake Preparedness

Understanding earthquakes.

An earthquake is when the ground shakes because of energy released from the earth’s crust. This can damage buildings and cause injuries. Knowing what to do before, during, and after an earthquake is important to stay safe.

Before an Earthquake

Prepare by making an emergency kit with food, water, and first aid supplies. Secure heavy furniture to walls and learn where to take cover. Talk with your family about a meeting place outside your home.

During an Earthquake

If indoors, drop to the ground, take cover under something strong, like a table, and hold on. Stay away from windows to avoid breaking glass.

After an Earthquake

When shaking stops, carefully leave the building. Avoid roads and bridges that might be damaged. Check for injuries and use your emergency supplies if needed. Remember, aftershocks may follow, so stay alert.

250 Words Essay on Earthquake Preparedness

An earthquake is when the ground shakes because of energy released from the earth’s crust. This can happen without warning, so it’s important to be ready at all times.

Make a Plan

First, talk with your family about what to do during an earthquake. Pick a safe place in every room, like under a sturdy table or against an inside wall. Agree on a meeting spot outside your home where everyone will go after the shaking stops.

Emergency Kit

Put together a bag with important things like water, food that won’t go bad, a flashlight, a first-aid kit, and extra batteries. Keep this bag in an easy-to-grab place.

Home Safety

Make your home safer. Secure heavy furniture to the walls and put heavy items on lower shelves. This helps stop things from falling and hurting someone.

Practice Drills

Practice makes perfect. Have earthquake drills with your family. Drop, cover, and hold on! Get under a sturdy table and hold on until the shaking stops.

Learn and Share

Learn more about earthquakes at school or from books. Share what you learn with friends and family so they can be prepared too.

Remember, being ready for an earthquake means knowing what to do before, during, and after it happens. Stay calm and be smart to stay safe.

500 Words Essay on Earthquake Preparedness

An earthquake is what happens when the ground shakes because of energy released from the earth’s crust. This can make buildings fall, roads crack, and cause a lot of harm to people and places. Since we cannot stop earthquakes from happening, it is very important for us to be ready for them.

Why Prepare for Earthquakes

Being prepared for an earthquake can save lives. It means knowing what to do before, during, and after the shaking starts. This can help people stay calm and reduce the chances of getting hurt.

Getting ready before an earthquake means making a plan and having supplies. Families should talk about what to do if an earthquake happens. This includes picking a safe place in every room, like under a strong table, to hide during the shaking. It is also good to practice “Drop, Cover, and Hold On” drills.

People should also have emergency kits with food, water, a flashlight, a first aid kit, and other important things to last for at least three days. It is smart to keep these kits at home, work, and in the car.

Making homes safer is another part of being ready. This means fixing heavy furniture to walls and putting heavy items on lower shelves so they do not fall during an earthquake.

When the ground starts shaking, it is important to “Drop, Cover, and Hold On.” This means getting down on the ground, taking cover under something sturdy, like a table, and holding on until the shaking stops. Staying away from windows and outside doors is also a good idea because they can break.

If someone is outside when an earthquake starts, they should move to an open area away from buildings, trees, and power lines. If in a car, it is best to pull over and stay inside the car until the shaking stops.

After the shaking stops, it is important to be careful because there can be aftershocks, which are smaller earthquakes that happen after the big one. Checking for injuries and making sure it is safe before leaving the safe spot is important. People should also be ready to leave their homes if it is not safe to stay.

Listening to the radio or checking the internet for information from officials can help people know what to do next. If someone smells gas or sees a broken wire, they should tell an adult or call for help but never touch it.

Learning and Sharing Knowledge

It is good for students to learn about earthquake preparedness at school and share what they learn with their families. Teachers can help by talking about earthquakes and doing drills with their students.

In conclusion, being ready for an earthquake is about making plans, having supplies, and knowing what to do when the ground shakes. By preparing, people can feel safer and be able to help others during and after an earthquake. Remember, we cannot control when an earthquake will happen, but we can control how ready we are.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

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Download the Earthquake Essay Available on Vedantu’s Website.

What is an Earthquake?

Types of Earthquake

Tectonic Earthquake

Volcanic Earthquake

Collapse Earthquake

Explosive Earthquake

Effects of Earthquake

Examples of Devastating Earthquake

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Introduction

Influences on People's Ability to Respond to EEWs

The Influence of Previous Experience on Responses to Earthquake Threats

Prior Studies on EEW Perceptions, Experiences and Responses

Materials and Methods

Previous Earthquake Experience

Perceptions of Usefulness

Previous Earthquake-Related Behavior

Research Questions

Research Question 1: Do EEW Perceptions and Intentions Differ Between Those With and Without Prior Earthquake Experience?

Research Question 2: Is Preparedness, Particularly Participation in Training, Exercises or Drills, Related to People's Intended Actions for an EEW?

Research Question 3: Do Intentions to Undertake Particular Actions in Response to an EEW Differ Between Regions of Aotearoa New Zealand Which Have Experienced More Earthquakes?

Limitations

RQ1a: Does Prior Experience of Earthquakes Influence Perceptions of Usefulness of EEW?

RQ1b: Does Prior Experience of Earthquakes Influence Intended Actions?

RQ2a: Does Preparedness, Particularly Participation in Training or Exercises, Influence People's Intended Actions for an EEW?

RQ2b: Does Preparedness, Particularly Participation in Drills, Influence People's Intended Actions for an EEW?